It is not unusual if you ignore your tiring muscles amid your bustling lives.
While some people can schedule massage therapies at lavish spas, common people cannot afford this luxury.
Professional masseuses
can charge anywhere from $50-$100 per hour. So, how can one take care of their back muscles and health without hogging most of their salaries?
The answer lies in deep tissue massage therapy that you can easily do at home.
Let’s go over some tips on how you can treat yourself most efficiently. Also, we’ll be looking at what tools you can use to perform it!
Why is Deep Tissue Massage Therapy Necessary?
People, especially athletes, use deep tissue massage to recover from muscle injuries and sprains. The therapy involves using slow, deep strokes to apply sustained pressure on the musculoskeletal system and underlying connective tissues.
Deep tissue massage therapy not only provides relaxation but is also therapeutic, unlike other mainstream massages. It has shown effective results with people suffering from:
- Sports injuries
- High blood pressure
- Sciatica
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Fibromyalgia
- Tennis Elbow
If performed correctly, deep tissue massage therapy can markedly reduce pain, tension, and tightness.
In addition to that, it improves blood circulation and range of motion, which can enhance your overall performance and give you a speedy recovery from the mechanical stress you may be facing.
All of the self-care will reduce your anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Therefore, allowing you to lead a happy and active life.
Tips for Deep Tissue Massage Therapy at Home:
Now that we have established the importance of deep tissue massage therapy let’s go over how you can adopt it effectively at home.
The core of these tips lies in making the therapy easy for you to incorporate into daily life.
1. Massage Oils
Massage oils such as ayurvedic oils are explicitly designed to ease muscle tension and provide you with smoother and more fluid strokes during the massage.
You don’t need a lot of oil during a massage. Just enough to mobilize your hand and make it move easier. Use broad strokes to spread the oil on the surface thoroughly.
The frictional heat will melt the oil itself, giving a soothing effect to the skin.
Warming Up
Before applying pressure on deep tissue and muscles, it is better to warm the area up.
Gently massage over the skin with your hand. You can do this by gliding the hand across the affected area. It is important not to start applying pressure right away as it might clog the blood supply, causing more trauma.
You can also try to exercise the muscle a bit before massaging. For example, few stretches and aerobic exercises such as jumping jacks and high knees can be an excellent way to start the therapy.
Finger Tips
During the massage, try to pull your fingers close to each other instead of spreading over the muscle.
If you spread your fingers apart, it may feel like you are pinching the muscle, becoming painful.
On a thumb’s scale, imagine yourself sculpting clay while massaging your muscles and deep tissues.
The Movement
During the initial part of the massage, use your palm to warm up the muscle gently.
Gradually start increasing the pressure as you feel the muscle warming up. And the pressure is regulated, even strokes.
After the muscle has warmed up adequately, start using your fingertips to apply pressure. Use the side-ways motion with your fingers as you massage the targeted area.
During the strokes, you may feel knots or resistance under the skin. Try to gently ease that by applying pressure with your thumb or dominant finger.
It is important to note that it may feel a bit uncomfortable at first. But after the clot is removed, you will feel the blood circulation increase and an unclogged sensation under your skin.
Using Your Forearm
While massaging legs, the forearm can be an effective natural tool to ease muscle tension.
Place your forearm at a right angle to your leg and apply pressure using the body weight. Start with just under the knee joint and move towards the foot in one swift motion.
Avoid the Spine and Bones
Avoid applying pressure to the bony prominences and the spine.
Doing that will only result in more pain, not any hope for ease. So, focus the pressure exclusively on muscles and deep fascia under the skin.
Vulnerable Areas
During a complete body massage, avoid the vulnerable area as they are more prone to injury. They include the front of the neck, abdomen, and inside of the upper arm.
These areas are richly supplied by nerves and lack muscular structures. Therefore, applying wrong pressure to the delicate nerve fibers will cause excruciating pain.
Moving Towards the Heart
As you massage the body, try to direct the movement of your strokes towards the heart.
This allows mechanical pressure for blood to return to the heart improving circulation. In addition to that, it increases lymph drainage, which removes the accumulated toxins in your body.
Using a Partner
While deep tissue massage therapy is best done by a professional, you can ask your partner or a friend to do it for you.
Doing it alone without any tools can be difficult, especially while massaging your back. However, this can provide a fun and intimate activity for both.
Let them go over these tips and see how it turns out. Don't forget to return the favors!
If you live alone or prefer doing it alone, we have got you covered too. See our next section for more details on tools you can use to do deep massage therapy efficiently for yourself.
You may also like: What is a Deep Tissue Injury? Causes and Tips on How to Take Care of Them
Handheld Back Massagers
There is no better tool than a handheld back massager when it comes to at-home deep tissue massages.
It negates the extensive steps on how to perform the massage and does everything itself. All you have to do is to sit back and enjoy!
However, people can find it challenging to choose the product. The market is packed with handheld massagers from all companies. As per your convenience, we have researched and compiled the best massagers from all companies:
ExoGun
No other product replicates the actual deep tissue massage mechanics like this product.
With their latest and advanced product, ExoGun DreamPro, ExoGun has provided customers with the therapy they always looked for. Athletes and customers of all ages have left positive reviews, with a 4.6-star rating on their official product.
The DreamPro functions on dual stroke technology. Where it remarkably replicates an actual human hand giving a massage.
In addition to that, their flagship DreamPro is currently on sale with just costing $169 from the regular $600. Now, who wouldn't want a personalized masseuse for such a small prize!
Gentle Touch Deluxe
If you are looking for a complete immersive massage experience and do not mind spending some extra bucks, HoMedics’ Gentle Touch Deluxe might just be the product for you.
This product features gel-coated nodes on a chair, which genuinely gives an immersive massage experience. You can also control what spots to focus on, which helps to relieve pain and discomfort.
Currently, only two products are left in stock, so hurry up!
JamGym
With a 4.7 star rating on amazon, JamGym is a customer’s favorite. Especially the gym-goers who feel the need to massage their sore muscles.
JamGym deep tissue massage gun has an amplitude of 12mm, allowing the percussion to penetrate deep into the deep tissue. It is also very noise effective, so you don’t have to worry about disturbing others while using it.
If you are looking for something convenient and affordable, JamGym might just be perfect for you.
Hangsun
Hangsung is ideal for shoulder, neck, and foot muscle massages.
Its built-in powerful motor provides up to 3500 pulses per minute. Its speed and depth of movement create a deep, soothing massage. This massage technique penetrates even the tightest muscles.
With an over 4.4 rating on amazon and costing a measly $40, this might just be the perfect pick for you.
In Conclusion
Although muscles are tough and resilient structures of your body, they too can get fatigued with overuse. So, do not ignore your body's signs of stress, such as back pain, joint pain, or muscle knots in your body.
Deep tissue massage therapy is an excellent choice for releasing muscle stress and improving blood circulation. However, people can be hesitant to adopt it due to the high costs of a lavish spa or the difficulty of performing it independently.
Handheld back massagers can provide a good and easy tool for deep tissue massage therapy. With simple and easy steps, you can have a professional-grade massager at your service anywhere at much more reasonable rates.
However, if the pain persists after deep tissue therapy or using any tool, some underlying pathological reason might be at play. Therefore, contact your doctor immediately if the pain persists for a long time